10. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
10A.
Community Development – Discuss and Consider Adopting an
ORDINANCE
Amending the Torrance Municipal
Code Pertaining to Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) and Determine a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Exemption. Expenditure: None.
Name
Lauren Wolfer
Comment 05/04/2026 03:37 PM : (No Vote)
I’m reaching out on behalf of COOK Alliance to thank the City for taking steps to amend its MEHKO ordinance and bring it into alignment with state law. I also want to follow up on one point in the staff report (Item 10A). I’ve copied the City Clerk so that this is included in the official record.
The staff report for Item 10A at the May 5 City Council meeting expresses some uncertainty about whether the City can require written authorization from a landlord or HOA as a condition of operating a MEHKO.
On our reading of the statute, this is not an area of ambiguity. Health and Safety Code §114367.2(j) states that a single “lead local agency” is vested with the sole authority to accept applications, collect fees, and issue any permit, license, or other authorization required for a MEHKO to operate. The inclusion of “other authorization” is especially important here, as it makes clear that additional approval requirements imposed by local entities other than the designated lead agency are not permitted.
A landlord or HOA approval requirement functions as exactly that kind of additional authorization. Conditioning the ability to operate on thirdparty written approval effectively creates a separate layer of permission beyond what state law allows. The statute refers to “a city, county, or city and county” only because a small number of cities in California operate their own local health departments. Torrance is not among them and instead falls under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which serves as the lead local agency.
We appreciate that the City is removing this provision from the ordinance and are glad to be a resource as implementation moves forward. I also wanted to share our recently published research report, which examines the first five years of the MEHKO program in California. Our organization partnered with independent researchers to analyze permit data and public records from environmental health and code enforcement agencies, along with survey results and focus groups. The data confirms what we’ve long seen in practice, that the program is safe, successful, and helping families across California launch new businesses and make ends meet. Both the full version and a summary can be found here: cookalliance.org/researchreport.
We’re happy to be a resource and available to discuss further, and thank you for your work on behalf of homebased food entrepreneurs.
1 PUBLIC COMMENT REPORT -
AGENDA ITEM 10A